The trip seemed an impossible extravagance, but equally impossible to
miss.

Norwegian Cruise Line had announced a decision
to send the Norway to Asia, where she would serve in a market known
primarily for short gambling cruises. Before heading to the Far East,
she would go to Bremerhaven for refurbishing and refitting for her new
role.

And before that refit, Norway would make a 17-day transatlantic
voyage, a long arc along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, and
across to Scotland, Ireland, and France before terminating in Southampton.
This would be the last chance to see the former France and appreciate
her interior spaces before (it was feared) they would be ripped out to
make way for acres of green felt and flashing slots.

With my wife Lisa committed to job responsibilities until September 7,
for the first week of the trip I would go solo. After some tentative red
tape from NCL, she was cleared to board in Halifax. So I went down to
Miami, arriving a day early for a visit on Royal Caribbean's Explorer
of the Seas, the newest megaship, and heir to the tradition of big
ship/destination ship cruising begun by Norway.

September 1, 2001
Arriving in Miami a full day before Norway, I splurged on two nights
at the Marriott
Biscayne Bay, booking a room with a view of the cruise ship basin.
After the Chicago redeye, and a few hours restless sleep, I awoke at dawn
to this scene. Underneath that dramatic sky was Explorer of the Seas,
which I was to visit later that morning, and, further down the channel,
Carnival Triumph.